Very laid-back. So if you are looking for a company where you can "coast" - this is the firm for you.

Cons

Very poor to no growth opportunities. HR has a very poor reputation amongst the staff. Management team for the most part has grown with the company. Many have been with the firm 15+ years. While initially this seemed a good thing, they do not support new recruits, and there are few if any growth opportunities. I have seen and overheard Sr Managers attack the credibility of a new recruit. One of the division presidents gossips with sales people about others. I mean really. Seriously? These are Sr. Managers!!! the bar is pathetically low, if it exists at all. Success is based entirely on politics. Merit is no factor, nor is it appreciated or respected. Timelines are missed and no one cares, everything is sloppy, and there is zero accountability. I have never worked with such underwhelming performers. People just hanging out. People in positions of authority can yell at, harass, and create a hostile environment with impunity. Not only that, they get promoted!!! I have personally seen abuse first hand, senior management and HR are aware, and yet nothing is done. This company will take an A player and turn him/her into a C (if you want to survive you better become one) or the A's just quit. The stock is good now, but I don't see how this company is going to retain the stars that will take it forward. There are no growth opportunities except for a chosen few, no investment in training, and no investment in leadership training. My position was misrepresented. Had they truthfully portrayed my job and its responsibilities I would have never applied nor accepted it. Joining this firm has stalled my career. The position I occupy is nothing like the one I applied for. I am a senior level employee doing the job of an entry level worker. The people on my team are not valued, they do not get assigned work that is important, they are denied access to information (this is perhaps the biggest issue), they are denied access to training and development opportunties, and to top it all off the bosses get to yell, etc. , etc. Appalling behavior. They gossip about their own team! At what company is a manager who gossips about their own team taken seriously? Yet here - it flies. When I explain to friends what I experience on a daily basis they can not believe this company is in business.

Advice to Management

Implement leadership training and develop a system to hold people who occupy these postions to a higher standard. Make them accountable, and ensure that they are upholding and representing the company's ethics and values. Lose the outdated hierarchal structure. Hierarchies are the refuge of those who can not lead. What is the standard for your managers? Respect the fact that a minion today may be a leader tomorrow - and wouldn't it be better if it was for you instead of a competitor?

I have deep respect for the Founders & Family as their contribution to the world is immeasurable but unfortunately, management executes tyrannical abuse of their authority of Draconian measures decaying apathetic culture of their employees.

Cons

I came to Bio-Rad Laboratories with high hopes & expectations of a meaningful career but was quickly discouraged with their systemic leadership incompetence & culture shock! Poor training & support, some employees are territorial & apathetic toward their colleagues. Helping others is frowned upon by management, they often question our integrity, we are constantly reminded & told "It is not our job"! you are to keep to yourself & push those bogus numbers regardless you received full training or not. Metrics are bias. It is an unpleasant environment & stunts your growth, affecting your health. Employees cower in fear to have a voice. When quality issues are reported, you are either ignored or deemed trouble maker & swept under the rug; when you find ultimate solutions they blatantly & arrogantly take the credit. Each Department have high impermeable walls & exercise extreme office politics. A lot of red tape just to get a consensus & resolution. Management often walk pass by employees with a look of disdain without any greetings, habitually raise their voice & condescending. Colleagues think that the company's inclusion in the "Best Place To Work" ranking is a joke!

Advice to Management

Train your Management Team to be inspiring leaders not "incessant Micro Managers" and treat your employees with respect, dignity & professionalism. Office politics should not be encouraged nor tolerated. Balance your focus & goals to not only aim to please investors with numbers rather cultivate & motivate your employees & maintain the highest level of integrity & quality of the product & services. Give each employee a reason to genuinely smile & be contented to be a part of your organization. Remember that each one came on board with their own distinct gifts & talents. It is the people that are your undisputed assets & should be regarded as your top priority. I on the other hand, truly regret embarking in this company, it is not worthy of my integrity & sacrifice & of others before me who has been silenced. With God's grace, my faith has led me to journey on to greener pastures...nevertheless this painful experience has taught me to appreciate my true source of blessings~my family & the golden door(s) of opportunity I am being presented and where I am now. We get caught up in the material world but in the "grand scheme of things"... there is a divine order in life.